Basil, Rule of St
The monastic Rule put forward by St Basil the Great, which is the basis of the usual Rule followed by religious in the E. Church. The most widespread form of the Rule consists of various Basilian ...
Basil, St, ‘the Great’
(c.330–79 [or possibly slightly earlier]), one of the three Cappadocian Fathers. The brother of St Gregory of Nyssa, he settled as a hermit near Neocaesarea in 358; he left his retirement only when ...
canon
In the E. Church stanzas of poetry began in the 7th cent. to be inserted between the verses of the biblical canticles sung during the second part of Orthros. In most places the text of the canticles ...
Iconoclastic Controversy
The controversy on the veneration of icons which agitated the Greek Church from c.725 to 842. In 726 the Emp. Leo III published a decree declaring all images idols and ordering their destruction. ...
monasticism
Christian monasticism is motivated by a desire to seek God through Christ by a life of asceticism and prayer; Christian monks and nuns believe themselves to have a personal call from God to lead the ...
St Athanasius (the Athonite)
(c.920–1003. He became a monk in Bithynia but migrated to Mount Athos, where he established the first of its famous monasteries (961). He became Abbot-General of the communities on the Mount, of ...
St Leo III
(d. 816), Pope from 795. After being attacked in Rome in 799, Leo fled to Charlemagne, who provided him with an escort. When Charlemagne came to Rome, the Pope crowned him Holy Roman Emperor (800). ...
St Nicephorus
(758–828), Patr. of Constantinople. He withdrew from court life and retired to a monastery, but was recalled to Constantinople and in 806 made Patriarch, though not yet in Holy Orders. In return, the ...
Studios
A monastery at Constantinople, founded probably before 454 by Studios, who in that year became a consul. Its monks were notable defenders of Chalcedonian orthodoxy. In 799, monks from Saccudium, led ...
Symeon the New Theologian
(949–1022)An imperial official with good prospects, but leading a disordered life, Symeon was converted by the influence of a Studite monk. Favoured with mystical experiences, he entered Studios, but ...
Theodosius of Kiev
(c.1002–74),abbot. Born at Vasil'evo (near Kiev) of a wealthy family in the service of the prince, he passed most of his early life at Koursk. When still very young, he unsuccessfully attempted a ...
